As part of their ongoing Wanna Play? campaign, our friends at NAMM have posted a list of their top ten reasons why giving a musical instrument to a friend or family member this holiday season is the gift that keeps on giving. Making music offers countless benefits to your health, happiness, and well-being, and can make the holidays a special time. What’s more, anybody can play, whether or not they think they’re too old or haven’t a musical bone in their body.

Some of the highlight’s from NAMM’s list include:

1. You’re never too old to learn how to play music – A common myth, but music can be learned at any age, and studies show that making music is a life-long skill that enriches the lives of children and adults

4. Enrich your holiday experience – and your life! – with music making - Whether gathering around the piano to play holiday tunes or caroling around the neighborhood, or dancing to live music at a holiday party, music making vibrantly brings the entire holiday experience to life

6. Playing music together promotes bonding – As families and friends come together during the holiday season, playing music offers an exciting way for everyone to join in on the fun, creating a sense of togetherness

7. High play value of musical instruments – The average cost that parents will spend on giving gifts to their kids is $200, with many kids tossing those gifts aside in a matter of months and moving on to the next fad. But with the gift of musical instruments, parents can give their kids a priceless pastime that will last for many years or a passion for music to last a lifetime

10. Unleash your inner rock star (or your child’s inner rocker!) – Take virtual music making with video games to the next level and let yourself or your kids develop their talent with a real musical instrument, just like their favorite bands and artists

Read more here!

~ MM

Christmas comes in less than three weeks, so if you’re struggling to find a gift for a musician in your life, consider some of the following options:

Metronome – Even the most rock-solid musicians need a metronome, and there’s no better time to brush up on time than Christmas. Several digital metronomes are available for less than $20 and plenty of iPhone apps are available for even less (we recommend Tempo for $.99). If you’re feeling extra generous, pick up a nice mechanical metronome in the $70 range.

Digital Recorder — With a recorder, musicians can record their lessons for playback as well as their own practice sessions to pick up on their weak spots. Cassettes and other analog physical recording media have gone the way of the dodo, and as such digital recorders are affordable and easy to find. Pick one up for as little as $30.

Magazine Subscription — Musical magazines are chock full of lesson, tips, inspirational and motivational articles, gear reviews…pretty much everything you could hope for. Say, why don’t you give the gift of Making Music this holiday season?

More to come!

~ MM

Our love of music apps on the latest and greatest smart phones is well documented (here, here, here, and here). But last week (and in time for the holidays), Verizon unveiled a musical program on one of their new not-so-smart phones. Marketed as a “Music Phone,” the new LG Chocolate Touch (Verizon) features “Join The Band” mode, with a virtual drum kit and a scrolling 88-key virtual keyboard so you can tap along with the music on the phone. It’s not exactly Inuta Beatmaker or even DigiDrummer, but it’s pretty cool for a built-in feature on an $80 phone.

~ MM

The holiday season is fast approaching and Making Music is here to help you pick out great gifts for the musicians in your life. Today, we have a stocking stuffer for any resident rockers:

Lick Library, a huge supplier of guitar tuition DVDs, recently released a series of Jimi Hendrix tutorials. Learn To Play… volumes 1 and 2 include lessons on the rock god’s most well-known tracks including “Purple Haze,” “Foxy Lady,” and “All Along The Watchtower,” to name a few. A Jam With Jimi Hendrix DVD is also available; instructor Danny Gill offers some insight into some of Jimi’s most famous tricks, like the “Hendrix Chord.” This CD/DVD set also includes a jam-along disc. Finally, a Quick Licks video is available as well, offering more generalized Hendrix tutorials.

Any of these volumes are sure to please guitarists of all ages. Excuse me while I touch the sky.

~MM

Via Blabbermouth